Oral Answers to Questions

Lee Pitcher Excerpts

Tuesday 11th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

The hon. Member is right to raise this serious and important issue. We want to ensure that we improve diagnostics, access to treatment and research, and I can think of no better person to lead the work on this area of the national cancer strategy than my hon. Friend the Minister for Secondary Care, who has lived experience, and who demonstrates that people can live well with cancer.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

T9. Women across the country, including my constituent Lisa from Haxey, are struggling to access vital hormone replacement therapy medications, such as Estradot patches. Owing to a 30-year-long medical condition, Lisa had her ovaries removed and now faces severe health consequences because of these ongoing medication shortages, and there is no resolution expected soon. Given the repeated supply issues with HRT in recent years, what actions is the Minister taking to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of those essential medicines?

[Karin Smyth]

I entirely appreciate the frustration and distress caused by medical supply shortages. We are working intensively with industry to resolve the HRT supply issues, and the problems with the supply of Estradot are expected to be resolved by the end of the month. Meanwhile, we have issued a serious shortage protocol to allow community pharmacists to supply alternative brands of the same medicine, and those remain available.